Season of Celebrations

The past two weeks were full of celebrations in my pueblo and in my life as I got to see all my fellow Group 18 Peace Corps volunteers for the first time in almost 4 months.  There were many parades, fireworks, street vendors and church events in celebration of both the fiestas patronales and Mexico’s Independence Day.  I finally saw what device makes the loud “booms” that shakes the house whenever it’s time to celebrate a saint (which we celebrate A LOT here) and ate pozole for the first time (which was delicious!).

Independence Day colors on display. 

  Celebratory colors in the square. 

View on my street. 

I wish I could tell you more about the cultural significance of the fiestas patronales but here’s what I do know: every day there was a different group of people walking behind a religious image carrying gifts to the church.  I saw the owners of the fruit stand on the corner carrying a large basket of food to donate and there was always a huge group of people to watch the procession.  There were also many mariachi bands playing music in the square, day and night, and lots and lots of people on horses.

 The start of every procession. 

Flowers for the procession. 

Mariachi bands. 

I was traveling on a bus during the highpoint of parades and celebrations for Independence Day but saw the remnants of a party with tons of confetti in the street upon arriving in Guanajuato.  Guanajuato is nestled in the mountains a few hours from Queretaro and houses a lovely collection of brightly colored homes on hillsides.  I met up with four other volunteers and explored the city, including the Museo Casa Diego Rivera, the modern art museum, the Monumento al Pipila and the Museo de Las Mumias.  The art was all amazing but the mummies were kind of creepy for two reasons: 1) there were babies and 2) word is that if someone’s family couldn’t pay their “perpetual” burial taxes they were exhumed and put on display.

Mural outside the mummy museum.

Panorama view from Pipila. 

That's the monument for Pipila on the left. 

Rail car travel to the top of the mountain. 

So many beautiful views! 

Mountains in the background. 

Local art.  

Guanajuato is really beautiful and teeming with visitors from all over the world.  We got to see the underground tunnel system that zips cars through town and serves as an overflow route for flood waters.  We stayed at an Airbnb with our gracious host Scott who – with his friend Fernando – gallantly carried our suitcases up all 200 plus steps to his house.  When you have to climb up 200 plus steps to get to your lodging, you tend to leave in the morning and not return again until it’s time to sleep. Airbnbs are always an adventure and although the stairs were not mentioned in the description, and it was physically impossible to fit the advertised “room for 5” in one single bed and one double bed, we had a great time.  My friend Kati had to sleep on the plywood bed placed on two buckets but she only almost flipped over once.  

Scott had to work for the majority of our visit but his friend Fernando spent all day with us which made us talk more in Spanish, which is always a good thing! He didn’t want to smile in the photos but I guarantee you he had a great time with us.  I laughed so much during that trip and have a little site envy as another volunteer in my group actually lives there. 

A blurry shot of our host Scott.  

Spending quality time with Fernando. 

One of several beautiful churches on our daily walk. 

University of Guanajuato.  

The kissing alley - where I sadly did not get kissed.  

Kati's "bed".  

Shopping in the local mercado - also home to delicious breakfast tamales. 

The local theater - and site of many street performers.  

This shop had great art.  

A magic little find.  

On Sunday I headed to Querètaro to join the rest of my Peace Corps group for a week of training back in our home city.  It was good to be back in the Peace Corps office and to start working on project frameworks and monitoring and evaluation plans.  It was even better to catch up with all my fellow-volunteers.  We enjoyed lots of adventurous bus and uber rides, pizza and pool parties, lots of non-Mexican food and opportunities to buy all that stuff we can’t find in our small towns (like fabric for my future wall art project).  I also spent an evening with my old host family and Lilia made me chilaquiles for dinner. It was so good to see the fam and I look forward to seeing them every time I'm back in town! 

With Natalie, sharing one of many laughs during a laugh-filled week.   

Fountain in Guanajuato. 

So many colorful homes.  

Don Quixote statue. 

It took 10 hours on two buses, plus transfer time before and during my trip, but I safely returned home and was pleasantly surprised to find only one dead cockroach in the house.  My brother wasn’t sure how that was a success, but I think it’s a good sign that I’m slowly driving them out.  I spent today shopping for food which required a trip to the following places: the tianguis for veggies, a local tienda for seafood, another tienda for fruit and more veggies, another tienda for eggs, and a final mercado for bacon.  I now have a big batch of chicken, veggie and lentil soup ready to go for the week.  Needless to say I am exhausted and more thankful than ever that I now have internet in my house. Last week my landlord came to my office and said “I found a Telmex guy on the street and they can install your internet right now but you need to come home.” So off I went and after 5 weeks of waiting for internet, it was installed. Patience, flexibility and internet – these are the keys to life.

View on the bus ride home. 

Musings from Mexico

As promised, it’s time to wax poetic about what I’ve learned during my first six months as a Peace Corps volunteers in Mexico.  It is cah-razy that I’ve been here for six months and a reminder that the older you get, the faster time goes.  Please enjoy these little gems of pontification.  

• People can be brave at any point in their life.  You’re never too old or too young to take a bold step and create a new path for yourself (and Pinterest has every quote you need for inspiration).
• Some people are really brave. My friend Kyle – a recent college grad – flew on a plane for the very first time when he headed from Georgia to DC and then to Mexico for Peace Corps service. Think about that – what if the first time you ever rode on a plane was to head off to live in Mexico for 2 years doing something, somewhere, in a different language?  That’s brave. 

View from a favorite restaurant, where my office eats weekly. 

Rooftop view of the local church and mountains.

• These millennials aren’t so bad. Most of the youngsters in my Peace Corps group are extremely intelligent, well-spoken, crafty and passionate.  And they invited me to go out with them during training, so you know that means they’re nice too.
• The old people are really cool too.  They made the choice to spend 2 years in service, in less comfort than they'd find at home, while learning a new language.  And they invited me to go out with them during training, so they’re also super nice.
• Flexibility = happiness.  It takes a concentrated effort to try and let things go and live in ambiguity, but if you can do it, you’ll be happier. Also, I need to start doing yoga again cause that type of flexibility makes me feel better too.

 Visit to the weekend tianguis; this table had American candy, including those peach gummy "O's" coated in sugar.

 Coconut water for sale in a portable plastic bag.

Lots of spices and seeds; I bought sesame seeds to toast and put on all my veggies.

• I am meant to sleep 8 hours – minimum – every night. And to work 8 hour days with full 1 to 2 hour lunches with real food. I hope I never ever eat a frozen meal again in my life (except for frozen pizza – you’re still my boo).
• Meals are better at the table with food that you actually prepare.  I know, that’s an obvious one, but in the US I got prepared food from the fancy grocery store all the time and I ate sitting on the floor, in front of the TV.  Now I eat at an actual table - its a very refined affair.  
• This experience makes me live more in the present because everything is new and different (even buying eggs which come packaged in plastic bags).  It’s nice to be more in the present. Although I may not have responded quite so eloquently when my grandma asked me where I was going to live in the US when I returned in mid-2018...

As you might imagine, these eggs are prone to breaking.

• I can live without TV (provided that I have someone else in the house with me, internet access or books). I read 7 books in 2 weeks which was great, but I really wanted to veg with some TV after that. And I need music – in the same way I need oxygen. 
• It’s really important to have a lot of fiber in your diet, and to drink a lot of water.  So much water that you can write really detailed posts about all the public restrooms in Mexico.
• I would be happier living close to my family (but not in the same house with them – sorry Grandma Ruby).

  Walking through the market - there were so many undergarments for sale.

Walking through town and the garden at a local church.

• Fans are one of the best inventions in the history of mankind, followed by bug spray, sunscreen, and window screens. Why every door and window in Mexico doesn’t have a screen is a great mystery to me. We live with a lot of insects.
• You can learn Spanish.  I was FREAKED OUT the day I arrived in Mexico and realized that I actually didn't know or understand any Spanish.  Just saying “My name is Autumn” raised more questions than I ever could have imagined.  But I can communicate now. It’s definitely not perfect but my boss recently told me that my Spanish was much better than when I arrived, so if you want to learn another language, do it!  Sí, se puede!

A rare moment of solitude at my "desk" in the office.

This is what my desk usually looks like (not a lot of space, but very nice people).

• This is a hard one: I actually don’t know everything or what's best all the time. If my younger siblings are reading this, please keep in mind that I’m still right ALL the time (and I call “shotgun” forever).
• Coca cola has a world dominance that is frightening to behold.  I never knew that drinking coke was an option for breakfast (or for your bedtime snack) and would advise against it.
• Continually being pushed outside of your comfort zone makes you respond in weird and confusing ways at times, but it’s guaranteed growth. People here tell me it’s good that I have a lizard in my house.  I’m gonna go ahead and say that I’m not really comfortable living with a lizard but I’m trying to embrace my roommate. At least he’s quiet.      
• I know I’m going to return from Mexico a different person than when I arrived.  You’re always stronger and wiser when you open up your mind to different perspectives and have new experiences, so I hope I can come back better. And if the sun wants to give me a lovely bronze hue, minus any risk of skin-cancer, and golden locks, I’m on board with that too. 

My first baby shower

Have you ever gone to a baby shower and pretty much done everything wrong? No, well let me tell you how to do that.  One of the students in my English class is having a baby and my fellow volunteer Cindy and I were invited to partake in the celebration and to bring some snacks to share.  We fretted over what would be a good gift.  Baby #4 – surely clothes were not a good option.  We settled on a mobile for the crib and a tasty treat akin to cinnamon bread.

View from this week (not baby related unless you count that this plant makes alcohol).

Another student was supposed to pick us up at our office before 6:00 PM, but at 6:10 we decided to take ourselves.  Luckily I had pressed for the hostess’s address ahead of time and we arrived to find a nice group gathered in celebration.  We both got pinned with a cute little pink sweater and started successfully chatting in Spanish and eating tostadas with some kind of creamy sauce on top, super spicy boiled potatoes on toothpicks and some kind of chip-like snack vaguely reminiscent of Funyuns.

We played bingo using beans as markers and Cindy and I were stoked to learn so many new baby-related words!  During the first game the hostess started pointing at me and telling me something that I did not understand.  Another woman came over and tapped my crossed leg, so I put it down, and then realized they were saying it was bad that my legs were crossed. I immediately started worrying about what kind of social faux pas I had just committed – was it bad luck for the baby? Did it signify I was going to get pregnant? Why was everyone looking at me?!  I felt so bad.

Bingo card, minus our bean markers (photo by Cindy).

How I felt for crossing my legs.

About 10 minutes later someone came over to the 16-year old boy seated next to me (cause that’s always common to find at a baby shower) and took his pin because he had crossed his legs.  I thought, ok, if you have a pin you are entered to win a prize and if you cross your legs you have to take off your pin, so I took mine off (cause really I had already been busted).  When the next person took a pin from someone else with crossed legs it became clear this was a game where the person who took the most pins from others would win a prize. I started to breathe easy again as I was pretty sure I hadn’t cursed any babies with my leg-crossing.

After several rounds of Bingo we moved on to some kind of re-enactment game where 3 people – including Cindy – had to act out a scenario of a spoiled kid behaving badly.  Cindy was great and jumped right in with a strong performance.  For the next game, the 16-year old boy kept trying to get me to participate but I’m more introverted than people might think. I eventually got pulled onto the floor but when it became clear it was some kind of singing game I begged for mercy and they let me sit back down.  The only people who need to be tortured with my singing are my beloved sisters and that’s because they torture me with theirs (a talented group of singers our family is not and I was still suffering a bit from my leg-crossing shame).

Luz, Yeya and Sonia playing a game - which I got out of (photo by Cindy).

Ana - mom of the hour (photo by Cindy)!

It was finally time for the mom to open her presents and she grabbed our gift first!  She opened it and everyone started asking who it was from.  Cindy and I were like “ooh, ooh!!! That’s from us!”  The mom looked at us a little weird and said thank you.  When she opened the second present everyone asked who it was from and then she guessed.  She guessed wrong and the person who actually bought the gift came up and drew on her face with lipstick.  So…..yeah, we clearly did not understand that game when it started.  If she guessed wrong, people drew on her face with lipstick; if she guessed right, she drew on the gift-givers face. Last but not least, we ate cake which was very tasty, and drank flavored water and coke, but never saw our sweet bread make an appearance. By the way, we were the only people who did not buy baby clothes as a gift so it was pretty clear that these Americans are super weird.  

It was really nice to be invited to this baby shower and I appreciate all that I learned but I was exhausted at the end.  Should you find yourself at a baby shower in Mexico I recommend the following:  buy baby clothes, don’t say what gift you bought, maybe bring a beverage as a snack for the party, and whatever you do, do not cross your legs.  

PS. The animal(s) in my ceiling --  identified as tlacuache (a type of opossum that bring fruit from the trees in to eat above me at night) and what is essentially a termite. So......yeah. I'm all extra connected with nature these days.